Written Answers Tuesday 21 January 2009

Scottish Executive

Animal Welfare

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16437 by Richard Lochhead on 1 October 2008, whether it expects the new regulations on the licensing of dealers in puppies and kittens to come into force and, if so, when.

Richard Lochhead: It is anticipated that the regulations on the licensing of puppy and kitten dealers will come into force on 1 April 2009 subject to parliamentary agreement.

Asthma

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether additional (a) financial or (b) professional support will be given to people with asthma by NHS Lanarkshire.

Nicola Sturgeon: This is a matter for NHS Lanarkshire.

Audit Scotland

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements it has in place for reviewing the implementation of Audit Scotland reports (a) one, (b) two and (c) three years after their publication.

John Swinney: The precise arrangements will vary between different parts of the Scottish Government but a common principle is that there is an audit committee, composed of external appointees, for each part of the organisation for which the Principal Accountable Officer has designated an Accountable Officer. A standing agenda item in the model terms of reference of those audit committees is to consider any reports from Audit Scotland and the management response to, and implementation of, recommendations. Audit Scotland staff are invited to attend all audit committee meetings.

Child Poverty

Bashir Ahmad (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of voluntary or public sector organisations to discuss poverty and deprivation in the Shettleston area.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government has met with representatives from Glasgow City Council (GCC) and Govanhill Housing Association (GHHA) on several occasions in the last six months to discuss issues affecting the Govanhill area of Shettleston. The Minister for Communities and Sport, Stewart Maxwell, visited the area in July 2008, and officials have met twice with GCC and GHHA officials to follow up on that visit, the most recent meeting being held on 9 January 2009. The focus of these meetings has been to discuss issues of poor housing quality, overcrowding, antisocial behaviour and a number of other social issues.

  In addition, in the last three months, officials have met a number of Registered Social Landlords in the Shettleston area. These meetings were to discuss Wider Role projects and potential projects to address poverty and deprivation in the Shettleston area.

Child Poverty

Bashir Ahmad (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for tackling child poverty.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government remains committed to doing what it can within the available powers to end child poverty by 2020. We recognise that any effective approach to child poverty must also address income inequality in Scotland, and set out our approach to tackling poverty and income inequality in Achieving Our Potential , launched in November 2008.

  The framework should be seen as one of a suite of social policies, including Equally Well and the Early Years Framework, which taken together signal the intention of moving over time from costly reaction to social problems to their prevention

  We and our colleagues in the other devolved administrations are also in early discussions with the UK Government on their plans for a UK Child Poverty Bill.

Communities

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent the consultation on the National Panning Framework complied with the National Standards for Community Engagement.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government has sought to encourage interest and wide public involvement in the preparation of the NPF in line with the National Standards on Community Engagement. The Interim Conformity Report which was posted as an annex to the latest version of the NPF2: Participation Statement (12 December 2008) sets out the Scottish Government’s actions in seeking to fulfil this commitment.

  The NPF2: Participation Statement Interim Conformity Report can be found at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/planning/National-Planning-Policy/themes/npf/NPF-PS.

Communities

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive in what form the performance of the Fairer Scotland Fund will be reported in light of the ending of ring fencing.

Stewart Maxwell: The ring-fenced status of the Fairer Scotland Fund (FSF) will end at March 2010. For the period 2008-10 we intend to fully integrate performance reporting arrangements for the FSF into the wider single outcome agreement (SOA) approach. Progress towards outcomes related to tackling poverty and disadvantage will continue to be monitored through SOAs in the long-term.

Council of Economic Advisers

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what examination has been carried out of the financial interests of members of the Council of Economic Advisers since their appointment and any potential conflicts of interest.

John Swinney: Appropriate due diligence was applied when members were appointed to the Council of Economic Advisers. No further examination has been carried out since then.

Dentistry

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on dental bursaries for dental students at the University of Dundee in (a) each financial year since the introduction of the scheme and (b) 2008-09.

Shona Robison: The information requested is shown in the following table.

  

 Financial Year
 Amount of Bursary Paid


 2006-07
 856,000


 2007-08
 888,000


 2008-09 (to date)
 864,000

Economy

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what economic modelling work has been done on the projected impact of the Small Business Bonus Scheme on economic growth, growth of small businesses and employment.

Jim Mather: The Small Business Bonus Scheme delivers a lower taxed more competitive business environment for small businesses. Analysis of empirical evidence to date indicates that measures such as the scheme support the growth of small businesses and facilitate their contribution to economic growth. We will be in a position fully to evaluate the impact of the scheme after it has been fully implemented in 2009-10.

Employment

Bashir Ahmad (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to create jobs in the current economic climate.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government is working alongside local authorities and agencies (including Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland and VisitScotland) to ensure that we respond effectively to the current economic climate. Together we are working to help firms respond to change and grow, whether through one-to-one company support or support for the wider business environment, ensuring a concerted approach to improving business competitiveness in support of long-term growth.

Enterprise

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set for the contribution of small businesses to economic growth over the course of the current spending review period.

Jim Mather: While no specific targets have been set for the contribution of small businesses to economic growth over the course of the current spending review, it is anticipated that their contribution to the government’s short-term and long-term growth targets will be realised through operation of a broader package of measures such as the Small Business Bonus Scheme which encourage increased productivity and competitiveness.

Enterprise

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive by what date it expects the £10 million being made available under the Saltire Prize to be awarded.

Jim Mather: The £10 million Saltire Prize is expected to be awarded by 31 March 2015.

Enterprise

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the notice on its website that consultation on draft guidelines for the Saltire Prize began on 5 January 2009, when it expects to publish the consultation paper.

Jim Mather: The consultation paper will be published by 30 January 2009 and will remain open for a period of three months.

Flooding

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-9066 by Michael Russell on 25 February 2008, whether the advice received from officials included an explanation as to why Scottish Environment Protection Agency had withdrawn its objection to the Aviemore Highland Resort’s master plan planning application three days previously despite the absence of a satisfactory flood risk assessment.

Michael Russell: I am satisfied that the advice I received from officials covered all relevant issues.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what basic child health reviews and health checks for every child up to the age of five entail.

Shona Robison: Basic child health reviews and health checks are set out in the Health for All Children (Hall 4) Guidance.  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/04/15161325/13390 .

  The guidance recommends that all children should have contact with health professionals within the first 24 hours for a full physical health check; within the first 10 days of life for a blood spot test for particular illnesses and a general check to ensure there is no cause for concern; new-born hearing screening is offered to all babies within the first four weeks of life unless born prematurely or ill; at six to eight weeks for a full physical health and development check, including weight; at two, three and four months for immunisation and to check weight; at 12 months for immunisation; at 13 months for immunisation and to check weight; between the ages of three to five years for immunisation and to check weight; between four and five years for an eye sight test, usually at pre-school, and between the ages of four to six, usually in school year primary 1, for a full physical health check including height, weight and dental check.

Homelessness

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive in what form the performance of tackling homelessness will be reported in light of the ending of ring fencing.

Stewart Maxwell: National homelessness statistics continue to be the core mechanism for recording and reporting performance in tackling and preventing homelessness. Performance against the indicator All unintentionally homeless households will be entitled to settled accommodation by 2012 in the National Performance Framework is reported via Scotland Performs. Local authorities are also required to report annually to the Accounts Commission on performance of their homelessness services against a range of indicators drawn mainly from information collected in the homelessness statistics system.

Housing

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many properties were completed by the Devanha consortium in the Grampian region during (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007.

Stewart Maxwell: The following number of properties were completed by the Devanha consortium in the period 2005-06 to 2007-08:

  

 
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08


 Number of units
 0
 0
 17

Housing

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the actual build costs for properties completed by the Devanha consortium in (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007 and whether these properties were delivered within the stated timeframe.

Stewart Maxwell: There are no build costs for the period 2005-06 to 2006-07 as no properties were completed by the Devanha consortium in this period.

  During 2007-08, a total of 17 properties were completed. Final build costs will become available during 2009-10 and I will write to the member with further details as soon as they are available and a copy will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 47407).

Housing

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the actual build costs for properties completed by the Highland Housing Association in (a) 2007 and (b) 2008 and whether these properties were delivered within the stated timeframe.

Stewart Maxwell: The Highland Housing Alliance has completed five private houses in Wick but the Scottish Government does not hold detailed information on the actual build costs of these houses as the Highland Housing Alliance is not a Registered Social Landlord.

Housing

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the administration and start-up costs incurred by the Devanha consortium in (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007 and whether any grant funding was received for this purpose.

Stewart Maxwell: There were no administrative or start up costs associated with Devanha in 2005-06. Administrative costs and Scottish Government grant for 2006-07 and 2007-08 were:

  

 
 2006-07
 2007-08


 Administrative and start up costs
£32,923
£82,038


 Scottish Government Grant
£14,182
£68,991

Housing

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the administration and start-up costs incurred by Highland Housing Alliance in (a) 2007 and (b) 2008 and whether any grant funding was received for this purpose.

Stewart Maxwell: Details of the administrative and start up costs incurred by the Highland Housing Alliance between 2006-07 and 2007-08, and grant funding from Scottish Government are as follows:

  

 
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09


 Administration and start up costs
£167,500
£190,500
 Not yet available


 Scottish Government Grant
£29,325
£12,500
 0

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-3354 by Stewart Maxwell on 29 August 2007, whether it will confirm that the housing allocation for Aberdeen for 2003 to 2007 was £34.883 million.

Stewart Maxwell: The figures I provided in my previous answer to question S3W-3354 were for the actual amount of grant paid to Registered Social Landlords in each local authority area for 2003-04 to 2006-07. I can confirm that the grant paid to Registered Social Landlords in Aberdeen City for this period was £34.883 million.

  The overall affordable housing grant in Aberdeen City over the same period was £37.498 million.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement of the Minister for Communities and Sport on 18 December 2008 ( Official Report c. 13569), whether it will confirm that Aberdeen will have a budget allocation of £40.6 million for affordable housing during the current parliamentary session and whether it will provide a breakdown of how the funding will be allocated between 2008 and 2011.

Stewart Maxwell: Further to my statement in the Scottish Parliament on 18 December 2008, ( Official Report c. 13569) I can confirm that the amount of affordable housing budget spent in Aberdeen city in 2007-08 was £6.7 million and it is anticipated that £3.922 million will be spent in 2008-09. It is expected that a further £30 million will be spent in the city over 2009-10 and 2010-11 subject to the detailed programming requirements of the Devanha initiative.

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-08/sor1218-02.htm#Col13568.

Housing

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-18702 and S3W-18705 by Stewart Maxwell on 7 January 2009, how pre-announcing the combined housing allocation for Edinburgh and Glasgow for 2010-11 is compatible with the start of a new weighted system for the distribution of housing resources.

Stewart Maxwell: The combined allocations to Edinburgh and Glasgow for 2010-11 have been agreed through the Local Government Finance Settlement. The earliest that a new system for distributing the Affordable Housing Investment Programme would be introduced is 2010-11. The split of funding between Glasgow and Edinburgh within the Local Government Finance Settlement has not been agreed for 2010-11.

Housing

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive in what form the performance of housing support services will be reported in light of the ending of ring fencing.

Stewart Maxwell: The ending of ring fencing provided local authorities with an opportunity to better integrate care and support services which allow people to sustain independent living when they might otherwise not be able to do so.

  Until 31 March 2008, the Scottish Government published annual statistical information from local authorities on housing support services delivered under the Supporting People programme. We have consulted with local authorities and other stakeholders on the continuing need for this statistical information and the practical issues of obtaining it.

  We will shortly publish the responses to the consultation and a decision on future reporting.

Income

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether median earnings in Moray of £377.30, according to Scottish Economic Statistics 2008, include wages paid to RAF personnel at Kinloss and Lossiemouth.

Jim Mather: The earnings information produced in Scottish Economic Statistics 2008 are taken from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). ASHE is the preferred source of earnings estimates and is produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The main basis of estimates is a random sample of 0.8 per cent of United Kingdom employees. The Scottish Government does not hold information on who the specific employers are of people sampled within ASHE.

Justice

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the review of community penalties involving the Sheriffs’ Association, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, social work departments and Scottish Government officials.

Fergus Ewing: In response to the report of the review of community penalties, the Scottish Government established a multi-agency reference group, membership of which included representation from the Sheriffs’ Association, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Law Society of Scotland, Criminal Justice Social Work, Community Justice Authority Chief Officers and Scottish Government officials. The work of the group initially focussed on the proposal for a single reparative sentence but in the light of the report of the Scottish Prisons Commission it subsequently provided advice on the proposals for a new community payback order. Legislative provisions for the latter will be included in the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill due to be introduced in Parliament in February 2009.

  A separate working group comprising criminal justice social work managers and practitioners and Scottish Government officials was formed to take forward work on operational issues in relation to the "immediacy and speed" of orders, which was one of the key recommendations of the report. Work on revised guidance for the operation of community service orders is now well advanced and additional funding has been provided to local authorities to support the operational improvements sought.

Justice

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive in what form the performance of tackling violence against women will be reported in light of the ending of ring fencing.

Stewart Maxwell: The collection of performance data will remain the same as it has in previous years i.e. Violence Against Women projects funded by the Scottish Government will be asked to complete end of year progress reports for internal monitoring.

  Furthermore, local authorities will be submitting an annual report to the Scottish Government showing achievements against their agreed contribution to national outcomes as detailed in the single outcome agreement in September 2009.

  The Scottish Government is committed to tackling violence against women. Over £44 million has been allocated over 2008-11 to tackle violence against women, including domestic abuse. This is double the amount from the previous three years. £10 million of the £44 million has been allocated to implementing the National Domestic Abuse Delivery Plan for Children and Young People. Almost £2 million has been committed to the ASSIST service, established to support victims, going through the domestic abuse court in Glasgow.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many alternative measures to prison have been (a) imposed on and (b) successfully completed by fine defaulters in the last year and what proportion of all fine defaulters this represents.

Kenny MacAskill: Information on the numbers and completion rates of Supervised Attendance Orders, which provide courts with an alternative to custody for fine defaulters, is contained in the Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics Bulletin for 2007-08 published on 9 December 2008. It is not possible to express the number of Supervised Attendance Orders imposed as a proportion of the overall number of fine defaulters. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/12/09091001/0 .

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people offered a direct measure in each month since January 2007 had at the time of the offer (a) one or more previous convictions or (b) previously been offered a direct measure, broken down by police force area.

Frank Mulholland QC: Case records in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s case management database do not contain any electronically searchable information about previous offending history or other reported cases involving the same accused. As a result, it is not possible to extract aggregate information of the type requested.

  Procurators fiscal taking decisions in individual cases do, however, have access to all relevant information about the accused’s previous convictions and offending history. This information is contained within the text of the Standard Prosecution Report and the associated information from the Criminal History System.

Marine Environment

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what fish species were the subject of targeted research in (a) 2005, (b) 2006, (c) 2007 and (d) 2008 and what conclusions were reached.

Richard Lochhead: Strategic research projects targeting specific marine fish species since 2005 are:

  Anglerfish (Lophius sp.)

  

 2005-08
 New developments in fishery independent methods (anglerfish)


 2005-08
 Quantification of Survey Gear Selectivity and Application to abundance estimation of key commercial species



  Cod (Gadus morhua)

  

 2004-07
 Understanding the role of population structuring in the maintenance of cod stocks under changing fishing and climatic pressures.


 2006-10
 Management of spatially sub-structured cod stocks around the British Isles


 2006-08
 Size-structured partial ecosystem model for the assessment of cod recovery strategies



  Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus)

  

 2006-08
 Spatially explicit model for Haddock populations in northern UK waters



  In addition, the following research was targeted at demersal fish in general:

  

 2003-07
 Metapopulation structuring within gadoids in the North East Atlantic(METAGADOID) (haddock and whiting)


 2003-06
 Inshore habitat use by juvenile fish


 2007-10
 Fisheries-induced evolution (FIE)



  Research – Freshwater Species

  Freshwater fish species subject to targeted research during each of 2005-08 were Atlantic salmon, sea trout, brown trout, pike, and Arctic charr.

  Conclusions

  Summaries of research conclusions are reproduced on the FRS web site (www.frs-scotland.gov.uk), along with downloadable copies of papers, reports and leaflets. Annual research highlights are included in the FRS Annual Reports and Accounts available on this site.

Marine Environment

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which boxes in the North Sea were subject to scientific research in (a) 2005, (b) 2006, (c) 2007 and (d) 2008 and what conclusions were reached.

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which boxes west of Shetland were subject to scientific research in (a) 2005, (b) 2006, (c) 2007 and (d) 2008 and what conclusions were reached.

Richard Lochhead: I have asked Professor Robin Cook, Chief Executive of FRS Marine Laboratory to respond to you directly.

Medical Research

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its expenditure was on medical research in the field of asthma and respiratory conditions over the last five years and how this compares with the UK Government’s expenditure for the same period.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO), of the Scottish Government’s Health Directorates, has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health and health care needs in Scotland. One of the main agencies through which the UK Government funds medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). Expenditure figures on asthma research are as follows:

  

 
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08


 CSO
£0.15 million
£0.17 million
£0.20 million
£0.15 million
£0.19 million


 MRC
£2.80 million
£2.60 million
£2.40 million
£3.30 million
£4.50 million


 Total
£2.95 million
£2.77 million
£2.60 million
£3.45 million
£4.69 million



  Expenditure figures on respiratory disorders research including asthma are as follows:

  

 
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08


 CSO
£0.27 million
£0.39 million
£0.36 million
£0.49 million
£0.56 million


 MRC
£12.10 million
£10.30 million
£15.10 million
£23.30 million
£27.00 million


 Total
£12.37 million
£10.69 million
£15.46 million
£23.79 million
£27.56 million



  The figures for the MRC (which has a UK-wide remit) will include expenditure on research projects carried out in Scotland.

Mental Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which programmes in the Choose Life or Breathing Space initiatives are designed to address the problems of self-harm in children.

Shona Robison: Neither Choose Life nor Breathing Space have a specific focus on self-harm or on children.

  The Scottish Government will set out in our forthcoming action plan Towards a Mentally Flourishing Scotland our proposals for tackling self-harm in Scotland. We hope to publish this action plan in spring this year.

Mental Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on achieving the 29 recommendations contained in the review document, The Same as You .

Shona Robison: Action has been taken on each of the 29 recommendations in The same as you? resulting in a significant shift in the balance of care from people living in institutional settings to community based support services. Annual returns have been submitted from all local authorities on implementation of the review, which demonstrate an increase in tenancies, personal life plans, local area coordination and alternative day opportunities. The 2007 return can be accessed on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/03/20154612/0 .

  The overall aim of the review was to ensure that people with learning disabilities are included in our communities and involved in decisions about their lives. It recognised that general community services should be accessible where possible with specialist services available as required.

NHS Hospitals

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital beds were available in each of the last 15 years for which figures are available, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The numbers of available staffed hospital beds in Scottish NHS hospitals are shown in the following table.

  Average Available Staffed Beds1 by NHS Board Area2; Financial Years Ending 31 March 1994-2008

  

 
 1994
 1995
 1996
 1997
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001


 Scotland
 45,263
 43,587
 41,790
 39,668
 37,998
 36,376
 34,696
 33,160


 Ayrshire and Arran
 2,692
 2,575
 2,408
 2,259
 2,234
 2,163
 2,147
 2,149


 Borders
 845
 822
 807
 781
 754
 734
 688
 654


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1,287
 1,226
 1,183
 1,105
 1,076
 1,104
 980
 835


 Fife
 2,577
 2,455
 2,322
 2,228
 2,097
 2,029
 1,979
 1,914


 Forth Valley
 2,598
 2,504
 2,349
 2,260
 2,106
 2,028
 1,862
 1,735


 Golden Jubilee National Hospital
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Grampian
 4,661
 4,442
 4,304
 4,135
 3,892
 3,732
 3,589
 3,464


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 12,742
 12,119
 11,616
 11,063
 10,932
 10,289
 9,732
 9,335


 Highland
 2,431
 2,391
 2,297
 2,168
 2,153
 2,088
 2,049
 1,992


 Lanarkshire
 4,307
 4,112
 3,994
 3,882
 3,726
 3,661
 3,590
 3,421


 Lothian
 6,557
 6,532
 6,253
 5,717
 5,117
 4,819
 4,525
 4,376


 Orkney
 152
 150
 150
 153
 147
 131
 102
 95


 Shetland
 142
 137
 136
 127
 116
 100
 101
 100


 Tayside
 4,005
 3,857
 3,720
 3,557
 3,374
 3,235
 3,106
 2,842


 Western Isles
 266
 265
 250
 232
 274
 263
 248
 248



  

 
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005
 2006
 2007
 2008P


 Scotland
 31,930
 30,793
 29,886
 29,069
 28,311
 27,678
 27,103


 Ayrshire and Arran
 2,137
 2,114
 2,068
 2,044
 1,976
 1,906
 1,872


 Borders
 643
 625
 658
 623
 626
 634
 616


 Dumfries and Galloway
 808
 766
 806
 828
 811
 806
 754


 Fife
 1,822
 1,771
 1,738
 1,760
 1,673
 1,647
 1,634


 Forth Valley
 1,630
 1,493
 1,366
 1,338
 1,284
 1,254
 1,295


 Golden Jubilee National Hospital
 -
 -
 -
 61
 84
 66
 69


 Grampian
 3,303
 3,106
 2,973
 2,915
 2,875
 2,889
 2,810


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 8,947
 8,558
 8,372
 8,015
 7,842
 7,682
 7,595


 Highland
 1,979
 1,892
 1,780
 1,764
 1,739
 1,677
 1,598


 Lanarkshire
 3,182
 3,058
 3,000
 2,835
 2,634
 2,547
 2,488


 Lothian
 4,455
 4,445
 4,249
 4,131
 4,117
 4,051
 3,939


 Orkney
 94
 94
 94
 94
 77
 70
 68


 Shetland
 100
 100
 100
 100
 100
 99
 92


 Tayside
 2,606
 2,549
 2,455
 2,332
 2,272
 2,146
 2,085


 Western Isles
 224
 224
 227
 229
 200
 203
 187



  Source: ISD Scotland [ISD(S)1].

NHS Services

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are used to assess patients’ eligibility for patient transport services in the NHS Highland area.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Ambulance Service Patient Transport Service (PTS) provides transport for those patients with a medical need. The Scottish Ambulance Service strives to ensure that eligibility criteria are consistently applied across the whole of Scotland to ensure equity of access for patients to transport services.

  Patients eligible for PTS transport are those:

  (a) Where their medical condition is such that they require the skills or support of PTS staff on/after the journey and/or where it would be detrimental to the patients condition or recovery if they were to travel by other means.

  (b) Where the patients medical condition impacts on their mobility to such an extent that they would be unable to access health care and/or it would be detrimental to the patients condition or recovery to travel by other means.

Oil and Gas Industry

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it holds information on the expected output range of (a) oil and (b) gas from the Scottish jurisdiction sector of the North Sea in 2020.

Jim Mather: Information for the year 2020 is not currently available. However, the Scottish government published in 2008 a report which provided estimates of Scotland’s geographical share of oil and gas production, operating costs and tax revenue from 2000 to 2013.

  The report, produced by Aberdeen University, concluded that while overall production from the UK continental shelf is expected to fall by 2013, the Scottish share of production is expected to remain relatively constant in the case of oil and rise with regard to gas.

  Further information from the report can be found at the following location:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Economy/17858/ScotShareNorthSeaRevenue.

Oil and Gas Industry

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it holds information on the expected demand range of (a) oil and (b) gas from the Scottish jurisdiction sector of the North Sea in 2020.

Jim Mather: Such information is currently not available. I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-19727 on 21 January 2009, which refers to data on possible future levels of oil and gas supply from the Scottish sector of the UK continental shelf up to 2013.

People with Learning Disabilities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will evaluate the impact of its The Same As You policy on services for people with learning disabilities before 2010 to inform policy development.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government will commission a major piece of research for early 2010 to look at how The same as you? has improved the quality of life for people with learning disabilities and their families.

People with Learning Disabilities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what will replace partnership in practice agreements to ensure that people with learning disabilities continue to be involved in the development of local services.

Shona Robison: Local authorities will now be accountable for the outcomes they agree to deliver through single outcome agreements. The single outcome agreements reflect the priorities and agreed outcomes for each council and include relevant supporting indicators and targets. We would expect them to be working with their partners and service users to ensure the outcomes reflect the expectations of all service users.

People with Learning Disabilities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it will bring forward to replace its The Same As You policy to ensure continuing focus on services for people with learning disabilities.

Shona Robison: The same as you? implementation group will continue to work on identified priorities specific to people with learning disabilities. This will be complimented by work to develop an approach to Independent Living, with a focus on ensuring choice and control for all disabled people, enabling independence and inclusion.

People with Learning Disabilities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities’ single outcome agreements contain specific reference to services for people with learning disabilities.

Shona Robison: The single outcome agreements (SOA) reflect the priorities and agreed outcomes for each council and include relevant supporting indicators and targets. Copies of all 32 SOAs which were agreed with local authorities on 30 June can be obtained via the Improvement Service web site by following the following link

  http://www.improvementservice.org.uk/component/option,com_docman/Itemid,43/task,cat_view/gid,561/.

People with Learning Disabilities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will monitor local provision and development of services for people with learning disabilities.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government collects annual statistical returns about the provision of services for people with learning disabilities. From 2008 this information will be collated through the eSAY project, which outlines a set of national data standards to ensure information is recorded and measured in the same way across Scotland. The Scottish Government is working with the partnership in practice network, which includes representatives from local authorities and health boards, to support the measurement and demonstration of outcomes at a local level through eSAY.

  The Social Work Inspection Agency and Care Commission will also continue to have a role in evaluating the delivery of services and monitoring regulated care settings.

Planning

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-9067 by Michael Russell on 25 February 2008, whether the Minister for Environment briefed his private secretary on the outcome of his discussion with the chief executive of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and, if so, whether that briefing constituted the basis of the private secretary’s memo to the First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment on 7 December 2007.

Michael Russell: Yes.

Planning

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-9066 by Michael Russell on 25 February 2008, whether the Minister for Environment had knowledge of Aviemore Highland Resort’s objection to Laurel Grant Ltd’s rival retail planning application on 7 December 2007 when he decided to contact the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to check that there were no misunderstandings or matters of process for SEPA that were unnecessarily holding up proper consideration of the Aviemore planning applications.

Michael Russell: No.

Planning

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-9062 by Michael Russell on 25 February 2008, whether it considers that it was appropriate in the circumstances for the Minister for Environment to phone the chief executive of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to check that there were no matters of process unnecessarily holding up consideration of Aviemore Highland Resort’s planning applications in the absence of formal advice prior to making the call.

Michael Russell: Yes.

Planning

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10664 by Michael Russell on 25 February 2008, whether the Minister for Environment was aware of the £30,000 donated to the SNP by Mr Donald Macdonald of Aviemore Highland Resort prior to phoning the chief executive of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to check that there were no matters of process unnecessarily holding up consideration of Aviemore Highland Resort’s planning applications.

Michael Russell: As with all donations above £5,000, the donation was registered with the Electoral Commission and had been a matter of public record since 21 August 2007.

Planning

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-9059 by Michael Russell on 25 February 2008, whether matters of timescales in relation to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s (SEPA) independent statutory role in individual planning applications are operational matters for SEPA.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has an independent statutory role in advising on individual planning applications and ministers have no locus to intervene in this process. However, ministers have a legitimate interest in the efficiency and effectiveness with which SEPA carries out this role, including the timescales involved.

Planning

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10968 by Michael Russell on 11 April 2008, on what basis the Minister for Environment has stated that no member of the Scottish Government saw or was shown the exhibition of phase two of the Aviemore Highland Resort’s development arranged by Mr Donald Macdonald for the First Minister during the SNP conference in Aviemore from 26 to 28 October 2008 and whether individual ministers were invited to view the exhibition but declined.

Michael Russell: The answer was provided on the basis of consultation with Ministerial Private Offices.

Planning

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-9059 by Michael Russell on 25 February 2008, whether the exhibition of phase two of the Aviemore Highland Resort’s development arranged by Mr Donald Macdonald for the First Minister during the SNP conference in Aviemore on 26 October 2008 was held at or immediately adjacent to the meeting that took place at the SNP Conference involving Aviemore Resort Hotels, the Minister for Community Safety, who chaired the meeting, the Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism, the Cairngorms National Park Authority Convener, Highland Council Convener and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, at which Aviemore Highland Resort’s planning application was discussed.

Michael Russell: This information is not held by the Scottish Government.

Planning

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-10966 and S3W-10965 by Michael Russell on 11 April 2008, whether it will detail the protocol and established practice under which correspondence from the First Minister’s constituency office, dated 9 and 13 November 2007, marked as high importance and relating to a potential loss of 300 jobs at Aviemore Highland Resort, was not shown to the First Minister, nor placed in the ministerial correspondence system, and explain the difference between a protocol and established practice.

Michael Russell: It is established practice for correspondence received in the First Minister’s private office, but which is not personally addressed to him, not to be shown to the First Minister or to be put on the ministerial correspondence system.

  In this context, there is no difference between a protocol and an established practice as both are in line with Scottish Government Ministerial correspondence administration guidance for staff.

Planning

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10966 by Michael Russell on 11 April 2008, whether the assistant private secretary sought advice from senior officials, ministers or special advisors on how the items of correspondence received from the First Minister’s constituency office manager, marked as high importance and relating to a potential loss of 300 jobs at Aviemore Highland Resort, should be handled and, if so, what advice was given and by whom.

Michael Russell: As the correspondence was handled in line with established practice, no advice was sought by the assistant private secretary.

Planning

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the First Minister was first made aware of the potential loss of 300 jobs at Aviemore Highland Resort and what immediate action he took on being informed.

Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-9480 on 28 February 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Planning

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it fulfilled its commitment in the National Planning Framework to reach out beyond the constituency of organisations normally involved in planning consultations to a wider range of public interests such as younger people, older people, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government’s actions in seeking to achieve its participation commitments are set out in the Interim Conformity Report which was posted as an annex to the latest version of the NPF2 Participation Statement on the Scottish Government’s website on 12 December 2008.

  The NPF2: Participation Statement Interim Conformity Report can be found at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/planning/National-Planning-Policy/themes/npf/NPF-PS.

Police

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints were received by the police from people under the age of 18 regarding adults challenging their behaviour.

Kenny MacAskill: Information on the number of complaints received by the police is not held centrally.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when a decision will be made on the proposed relocation of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) from Dalkeith.

Maureen Watt: A business case covering options for addressing the accommodation issues SQA has with its premises at Ironmills Road, Dalkeith is being scrutinised. A decision will be taken once all the options have been fully considered.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) offices in Midlothian play an important role in providing employment in the county.

Maureen Watt: We have an interest in the support provided locally by all public bodies including the SQA. According to the Annual Population Survey , July 2007 to June 2008, the 231 jobs currently provided by the SQA in Midlothian account for 0.6% of the 41,000 people aged over 16 in employment in the county.

Scottish Water

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the savings to Scottish Water between 1 December 2008 and 31 December 2009 as a result of the reduction in VAT announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 24 November 2008 and whether any savings will be spent on infrastructure projects.

Stewart Stevenson: Water charges are zero rated for VAT purposes. There will therefore be no savings to Scottish Water as a result of the Chancellor’s announcement on 24 November 2008.

  A link to the relevant part of HM Revenue & Customs website is attached here for information.

  http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_ PublicNoticesAndInfoSheets&propertyType=document&columns=1&id=HMCE_CL_000132#P110_7568.

Small Businesses

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what projections it has made of the impact that the Small Business Bonus Scheme will have on jobs.

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what projections it has made of the impact that the Small Business Bonus Scheme will have on economic growth.

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what projections it has made of the impact that the Small Business Bonus Scheme will have on small business growth.

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the Small Business Bonus Scheme has had on the growth of employment, small businesses and the economy since its introduction.

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it measures the impact of the Small Business Bonus Scheme on the growth of employment, small businesses and the economy.

Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-19705 on 21 January 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Small Businesses

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the growth of employment in small businesses has been in each year since 1997.

Jim Mather: Data for the employment of enterprises operating in Scotland are published annually within the Scottish Government publication Scottish Corporate Sector Statistics . The figures are only available from 1998 and the latest data refers to the employment of all enterprises in Scotland as at March 2008.

  The following table shows the total employment of small enterprises (0 to 49 employees) in Scotland and the year-on-year growth rate from 1998 to 2008:

  

 
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003


 Employment
 749,950
 726,860
 730,140
 735,260
 741,820
 745,460


 % Growth
 -
 -3.1%
 0.5%
 0.7%
 0.9%
 0.5%


 
 2004
 2005
 2006
 2007
 2008


 Employment
 759,500
 745,870
 745,850
 771,850
 780,100


 % Growth
 1.9%
 -1.8%
 0.0%
 3.5%
 1.1%



  Source: Scottish Government, ONS (IDBR).

  Please note that these figures exclude central and local government employment.

Small Businesses

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the rate of growth in the number of small businesses has been in each year since 1997.

Jim Mather: Data on the number of enterprises operating in Scotland are published annually within the Scottish Government publication Scottish Corporate Sector Statistics. The figures are only available from 1998 and the latest data refers to all enterprises in Scotland as at March 2008.

  The following table shows the number of small enterprises (0 to 49 employees) operating in Scotland and the year-on-year growth rate from 1998 to 2008:

  

 
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003


 No. of Enterprises
 232,165
 226,510
 230,865
 237,555
 246,300
 256,855


 % Growth
 -
 -2.4%
 1.9%
 2.9%
 3.7%
 4.3%


 
 2004
 2005
 2006
 2007
 2008


 No. of Enterprises
 264,660
 259,545
 259,695
 273,740
 276,265


 % Growth
 3.0%
 -1.9%
 0.1%
 5.4%
 0.9%



  Source: Scottish Government, ONS (IDBR).

  Please note that these figures exclude central and local government enterprises.

Small Businesses

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact of the Small Business Bonus Scheme has been on the cash-flow and trading position of small businesses since its introduction.

Jim Mather: The average cash benefit to business properties under the scheme is around £1,000 in 2008-09. The scheme is just one of a number of measures in the Scottish Government’s economic recovery programme which can improve cash flow to small businesses.

Small Businesses

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what projections it has made of the impact of the Small Business Bonus Scheme on the cash-flow and trading position of small businesses.

Jim Mather: We will be in a position to evaluate the impact of the scheme once it has been fully implemented in 2009-10. The impact of the scheme will also be measured by its contribution to meeting the strategic targets set out in the Government’s Economic Strategy .

Transport

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the reduction in the costs of transport projects in 2008-09 and 2009-10 stemming from the reduction in VAT announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 24 November 2008 and whether the savings will be spent on transport projects.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland officials are currently working on quantifying the possible savings and I will write to the member in due course.

Waste Management

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the waste management hierarchy for the development of waste policy introduced by the waste framework directive agreed by EU member states on 20 October 2008 was applied during the drafting of the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill.

Richard Lochhead: The waste provisions in the Climate Change Bill represent only part of Scottish Government policy on waste. These provisions are powers which the Scottish Government is seeking to take in respect of the particular issues with which they deal.

  Should the Parliament grant these powers to the Scottish Government, the detail of their application will be set out in regulations which will apply the waste hierarchy as appropriate.

  The Scottish Government’s policy on waste, in general, will be set out in a revised National Waste Plan, which is currently being prepared for consultation.